Bitcoin futures may have been launched with tremendous fanfare - XRP futures, on the other hand, not so much. But in fact, U.K.-based startup Crypto Facilities has been operating a futures market for the world's third-largest cryptocurrency, developed by blockchain startup Ripple Inc., for almost 18 months now. And while the company's CEO Timo Schlaefer has been tight-lipped about the product so far, he sees trends in recent data that indicate broader XRP futures adoption may be on the horizon. "We have pretty good order books," Schlaefer told CoinDesk, "And we're in the process of working with some of the large market makers...

Analysts, traders, and investors are constantly looking for the next big thing. While Bitcoin is far from fading, other cryptocurrencies may emerge to replace it as the standard for digital financial transfers. One company that has made a lot of partnerships and gained a lot of attention recently is Ripple. Sponsored According to reports, a number of industry experts predict that Ripple’s XRP could be the next big thing as large gains from a sub-dollar asset would be far more likely than one that is already trading at $10K per coin. RIPPLE TO MAINSTREAM CRYPTO Craig Cole of CryptoMaps is...